There is a certain amount of drama necessary in a film that is about a sports underdog. You need something to root for the protagonist. You don't really need an antagonist. The circumstances usually play enough of a villain. Freaky Ali, unfortunately has you rooting for Nawazuddin Siddiqui, the actor who plays Freaky Ali and not Ali himself.

Ali is as uninteresting a character as it can get. Sure, he is given plenty of analogies as one line quips. But, they barely bring a smile. In fact, a lot of them are outright cheesy. Nawazuddin Siddiqui's dialogue delivery and body language lends them some dignity and hence make them tolerable. It actually, physically hurts to not like a film with an actor of Nawazuddin Siddiqui's calibre. The other performances are like those you would find in any other loud, slapstick film.

In fact, that is what a lot of Freaky Ali ultimately is, an attempt at slapstick comedy with a coherent story. There it achieves its purpose. But in entertaining us, it does not. The story by itself is like any other sports drama except that the drama is just not enough. Yes, it is tough for me to accept that I am asking for more drama. This is despite our hero Ali being in a situation that is closing in on him from both sides.

The problem is that all the elements exist - romantic angle, the betrayal, the hardship, the setbacks – but they all seem rather perfunctory. None of them get your attention, let alone make it pique. Of course, it is all predictable – that is a given for any underdog story anyway, isn't it?

There is only so much an ordinary story can stand on its actor's shoulders. Even if they are as broad as that of Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Thumbs up,
by Meena Iyer,
Times of India
:
....Director Sohail Khan, who shares writing credits too, takes a lot of cinematic liberties. Even in a Utopian state, it is hard to digest street children running amuck golf greens. Or having goondas, double up as caddies. Like they say, this happens only in our desi cinema.
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So-So,
Bollywood Life
:
...However, a more polished direction would have made the comedy work better. The romance between Ali and Amy Jackson’s character is very forced. There are a few inconsistencies in the film. Like the scene where an old woman twists Ali’s right arm, and the next scene he is seen holding his left arm in pain. Also the jokes on old men and speech defects may not appeal to everyone.
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So-So,
by Rohit Bhatnagar,
Deccan Chronicle
:
...Even though Nawaz performs well in 'Freaky Ali', the film is surely not worth the ticket price. Since Baar Baar Dekho also released this Friday, pick this only if you are an ardent Nawazuddin Siddiqui fan. The film holds no promise of entertaining you throughout.
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So-So,
by Dev Raj Gulati ,
Desi Martini
:
...Like any professional sport,golf also is inflicted with the scourage of 'fixing'.The socio-ecomomic divide between characters is vividly presented.No where does one get bored.
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So-So,
by Sarita A Tanwar,
DNA
:
...Freaky Ali has flashes of fun but could’ve been far funnier. Watch it for Nawaz’s endearing performance.
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So-So,
by Jaiwantika Dutta Dhupkar,
fullhyd.com
:
...Freaky Ali literally bubbles with excitement when it comes to portraying the slum and the underworld don scenes. There are quite a few of them, which tells you what a sports film and a half this one is. In any case, the real fun for the makers appears to have been showing the slum kids playing golf with used styrofoam cups, showing the vibrant and synced arty-qawwali organised for Ali, showing the street kids dancing to the kettle-drum in the by-lanes as well as on the golf course with equal finesse, and showing Ali tearing off his cast and making angry faces at Manager Amy a day before the tournie - these are the real things you ought to watch Freaky Ali for. Everything else - the golf, the Siddiqui - is secondary.
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So-So,
by Sweta Kaushal,
Hindustan Times
:
...Despite the cliches and melodrama, we found Freaky Ali worth the time and money. From the ‘talented actor’ for the intelligentsia to the common man’s entertainer, Siddiqui is one star we love....
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So-So,
Indicine
:
...Conclusion: Freaky Ali is a great example of a story concept which could have worked wonders had the execution of the product been in able hands. Sohail Khan makes a movie which could have been rip-roaringly funny but settles with being moderately funny. It is not unwatchable by any means. In fact, Freaky Ali can even be enjoyed to an extent if you are willing to overlook the flaws and the inferior detailing. Eventually, Freaky Ali isn’t a hole in one, it turns out to be par for the course.
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So-So,
by Jaidev Hemmady,
Movie Talkies
:
...If you are looking for a 'masala' timepass this weekend, Freaky Ali will surely not disappoint you despite being predictable and clichéd.
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full review

So-So,
by troy Ribeiro,
NDTV
:
...Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the titular role, as the unconventional golf player is convincingly sincere, that is because he does not deviate from being Ali.
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So-So,
by Manisha Lakhe,
Now Running.com
:
...In this film, the challenge is diluted by intervening by the gods, the maa ka aashirvaad (and the sweater), and a reformed bad guy who plays caddy for the day and the drums! No one but Bollywood could get away by having drums in a golf movie. Also what starts out to be a fun movie of an underdog, just gives lots and lots of room to Nawazuddin to ham it up to the gills. His cutting of the plaster scene can go down in his own book as the hammiest of them all.
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full review

So-So,
Sify Movies
:
...Overall, Freaky Ali inspired by the English film, Happy Gilmore, entertains with its simplicity and raw Indian appeal. ...
full review

Thumbs down,
Bollywood Hungama
:
...On the whole, FREAKY ALI kick starts with rib-tickling moments but fails to retain the humorous momentum throughout as it falls prey to predictable plotline and a disappointing second half.
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full review

Thumbs down,
by Shruti Chaudhary ,
Desi Martini
:
...Starts with promise, humorous one liners, sleazy sometimes but bearable. Ends as a Sohail Khan trademark nonsense. If not for the last Half hour would have been an enjoyable fare.
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full review

Thumbs down,
by Johnson Thomas,
Free Press Journal
:
...Nawazuddin looks out of place and out of sorts, Arbaz continues to play wooden, while Amy Jackson’s pretty much makes a cake walk. The songs are forgettable, dialogues are atrocious and production values are patchy at best. This one is as silly and unexciting as they come!
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Thumbs down,
by Vishal Verma,
Glamsham.com
:
...Ending it with this example that reveals the level of writing and this flick. Picture this - Arbaaz Khan to a girl : Kya Rapchik maal hai. The girl responds: what chik. Arbaaz says : rapchick. Girl reacts : you should get a rap on your face and she runs....
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Thumbs down,
by Ananya Bhattacharya,
india today
:
...As for the rest, Freaky Ali has a strong supporting cast (Sohail Khan, Seema Biswas, Asif Basra), who do good enough to collect their paycheck. Amy Jackson perpetually looks like an air hostess and considering that her next film is Shankar's 2.0 opposite Rajinikanth, it is mindblowing to think how far she has come by doing absolutely NOTHING in mediocre films for six straight years. Jas Arora (that cute guy from Bally Sagoo's Gur Nal Ishq Mitha who turned into the unintendedly-funny villain in Sunny Leone's Ek Paheli Leela) is brilliant as the snobby, princely golf champion. He should appear in more films in good roles....
full review

Thumbs down,
by Surabhi Redkar,
koimoi
:
...Freaky Ali misses to be an ace (golf lingo). In the garb of comedy, this is a boring dramedy. A 2/5 for this one!
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Thumbs down,
by Mayank Shekhar,
MiD DAY
:
...What does? In this film, the lead actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui does, for sure. I suspect the filmmakers would have chosen the actor before the script itself. There is a latent cheekiness in his persona that only few films have explored so far (The Lunchbox might be one of them). He himself calls it “bhonde wali acting”.
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Thumbs down,
News18.com
:
...The film is like a sixer on a golf field, irrelevant and unnecessary. Even Siddiqui’s brave act can’t save this one.
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Thumbs down,
by Sukanya Verma,
Rediff
:
...It’s entirely on the writers and actors to make the proceedings seem crucial or comic. What shows up on screen is plain lazy on their part and it's painfully dull to watch.
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Thumbs down,
by Namrata Joshi,
The Hindu
:
...It is Siddiqui, the underdog hero, who holds the film together, with his sharp tongue and ready retorts. The simmering anger and a hunger to succeed that are so embedded in his edgy personality work well for his character.
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Thumbs down,
by IANS,
ZEENEWS.COM
:
...Jas Arora as Nawaz's villainous adversary on the golf field tries every trick in the book to look evil. But he is more a cartoonish figure. Amy Jackson seems content playing the plaything. She's first Jas Arora's right-hand woman, then Ali's. All the while she is a mere prop.
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